Golden Sun - Lux Alterna
by EverchangingArcadia
Summary: After the Apollo Lens incident, Matthew had begun to feel distant with his other companions. Unaware of to the specifics of his predicament, they try to help as best they could. However, whatever afflicted him would not be curable by their known means, and his life soon changes beyond anyone's imagination.


Disclaimer: I hold no rights to Golden Sun or affiliated copyrighted material. I personally regard this story as my own work, however any similar events that transpire are more than likely coincidental.

* * *

「Prologue "Somnus"」

Matthew stood alone in what seemed to be a pitch-black room. His eyes wandered, but he saw no one, just an empty nothingness.

He inspected his hands, then his body. Fingers clenched and then relaxed, legs given a slight wobble. The limbs had no resistance to impede its movement other than the clothing. He still wore his regular attire; a pair of brown gloves and boots, a blue vest with a red undershirt and black pants. The memorable scarf still adorned his neck.

There was no sign of damage.

He was completely visible in the vast darkness. His body appeared to have been lit on all sides, but no shadows or lights were produced nor seen.

Matthew closed his eyes and focused his ears, attempting to listen for anything. Only the accessories on his clothes made noise as he adjusted his body to ascertain his current situation.

He took a step forward. His boot made contact with the floor and an audible thud was formed. The sound that produced was as if the floors were recently swept; no sign of uncleanliness, no sliding of dust, nothing. He looked left, then right.

There was an eerie absence of echoes.

He took another step forward, then again, until he continued into the unknown.

-[-]-

After what seemed to be hours, Matthew suddenly felt a piercingly sharp pain in his head, followed by a progressively loud ringing. He stumbled and closed his eyes. As he placed his hands on his head, his body started to burn. The pain was agonizing. His legs then gave, and he found himself on his knees. Some time had passed and eventually the pain subsided. Slow, but nonetheless it was finally gone.

Matthew held himself up with his elbows and breathed rapidly. His breathing was heavy, but once his heart started beating at a more regular pace, his senses then cleared. Once he regained control of his body, he began to stand. It was wobbly at first, but after moment, his stance was firm enough and he started moving again.

Something faint caught his attention. A slight crackle, followed by a wave of warmth. Matthew slowly squinted his eyes and stared at a small flame that flickered in front of him. As he approached the size grew slowly, then progressively larger until it took the shape of a blazing inferno. Instinctively, he averted his eyes. When he was able to adjust to the sudden change in brightness, he looked back at the fire.

It took the form of a familiar house and slowly died down to reveal a structure that was still burning.

His eyes darted at the building's features. Shattered windows overlooked the canyon and on his left was a ladder that once led to the roof. It was thrown violently from its original position.

Matthew spots a great sword lodged in the ajar front door. A path of blood led inside. His eyes followed the crimson trail, and then he stared at the blade once more. It was well-used and durable; the middle section of the blade was reinforced a with blackened alloy and its lustre paled in comparison to the once shining edges. Small chips seemed to have broken off from a struggle. As Matthew scanned the weapon's design, his eyes widened. He breathed in sharply, then rushed into the burning home. His legs ached with every step.

The air was hard to breathe. Smoke was everywhere as the fire engulfed the walls. Shelves were broken, books and papers littered the floor. He looked back at the blood trail and followed it with his eyes. They led upstairs. His eyes dart back to the entrance of the smouldering building. Only a single pair lead out the door. Matthew took a step forward and tripped. His bodied screamed in agony for some reason and he looked at his feet. A single helmet was stuck into the floor, rather forcibly. The black headgear was cracked and was next to a headless corpse. Matthew stared at the dark attire, and then looked around. More bodies were littered in what seemed to have been a violent confrontation, and all were covered in the same gear. A few were cleaved in two, possible from the great sword stuck in the door behind him.

The boy struggled to get back on his feet and once he did, he went for the stairs again. It was much harder to inhale, but Matthew continued, step by step.

-[-]-

The room was just as worse.

The walls were destroyed. Beds had been overturned, bursting of bow gun ammo. The smoke here was thicker than before, and Matthew couldn't stifle a cough before coving his mouth with the yellow scarf. Blackened corpses were laid about, however they seemed to have been made by a smaller blade. Matthew coughed, then placed his hand over his mouth. He heard a groan, then turned his head and gazed upon a man in the corner of the room. As he moved closer, his eyes widened, and his heart started beating faster. The man wore a dark blue trench coat and had blond hair. His attire was scorched, and his hair singed.

A sword was lodged into his stomach and a blood pool had formed under him.

It was his father.

It was Isaac.

Matthew ran towards him, moving aside burning pieces of furniture along the way and almost tripped on another body. The charred wood seared his hands, but he pushed pass them without care. His breathing grew heavy and his eyes began to water. He sat next to his father and placed his hand on his parent's neck.

The pulse was faint. Very faint.

The man groaned and slightly stirred. His chest was slowly moving, but every breath sounded harsh and pained.

The dying man sluggishly turned his head towards the hand touching him, and he looked at Matthew. His face was pale and full of cuts. Eyes that were once bright were slowly losing its lustre. A single word escaped his mouth.

"…Why?"

Matthew's heart stopped momentarily and started to hurt.

The boy retracted his hand and looked at his father's pained expression. A single tear was formed and slowly slid down his face. Matthew narrowed his eyes. He examined his father more, and then saw the sword in his stomach. He tried to remember where he saw it before, then his eyes widened. Matthew breathed in sharply and staggered back. The sword was russet coloured with a viridian gem encrusted in the hilt.

Matthew was stunned, and he slowly reached for the scabbard on his back. The weapon's casing was hollow. It weighed nothing.

The boy looked at his father in horror. His hands trembled, his heart beat faster and faster. Suddenly, he thrust both his hands towards his father and closed his eyes. He attempted to cast Cure, but as the flow of light exited his hands it dissipated. Frantically, he casts the psynergy over and over, but to no avail. Matthew looks at his father one more time, and saw the light leave the man's eyes. He reaches out his arm, and then looked at his hands. He could see his burned flesh from where he grabbed the scorched furniture earlier. However, looking closely, the once auburn gloves were stained a dark crimson.

An audible crack was heard, and Matthew looked up. The ceiling began to cave in from the damage and Matthew jumped out of the way. He gazed at his father and saw the fire engulf his body. He wanted to scream for his father to move. The flames inched closer to Matthew until a blast exploded in front of him. A large squall blew him backwards into the wall. His lungs were swiftly removed of air and he winced from the impact. A burning sensation grew from his side and looked to see a shard of burnt wood protruding from his hip. The crescendo of crackling became more and more intense until a high-pitched scream pierced his ears. Matthew quickly looked forward and he saw a woman collapse. From her action, he realised that he was no longer in his old home, but in some urban city. The area was destroyed; windows were broken, doors were kicked in, blood and bodies littered the ground. Screams filled the blackened air.

As she tried to force herself back up, a blade entered her back. Matthew pivoted his head vertically and saw a figure clad in the same dark armour that invaded his home. The soldier looked his way as they pulled the blade from the lifeless body. Their footsteps came closer and Matthew struggled to move. His body refused to move, and panic was starting to settle as he was unable to avoid the soldier's advent. He looked up and saw that the assailant made no motion to take his life.

Instead, they reached out their hand.

Matthew stared in absolute shock at the extended limb. Before he could react, the soldier was sent flying by an extreme force into the wall of a building. Their body was twisted to unnatural bends and slumped to the floor. He looked back at the attacker and noticed a hint of lavender before being knocked back by a wall of earth and stone. His body burned as he tried to get back up. As he attempted to steady himself, his leg slipped, and he landed back down. Pain shot back through him and he clenched his teeth in agony. He was able to stand on his knees after a few more failures. His eyes opened slightly, and his vision was blurred at first. When it began to clear, his face contorted from shock to absolute horror. In front of him was a familiar friend, Sveta. She was standing with her back turned towards him, a black blade protruding out of her. Sveta's body slumped as she slowly slid off the weapon and crumpled to the hard floor. Matthew stared at the one who committed the deed and his heart throbbing heart stopped. The killer had his face.

Matthew began hyperventilating once more and gripped his head as unbearable pain entered his skull.

He tried to scream.

No sound came.

* * *

Matthew awakened violently from his slumber, covered in a cold sweat. His breathing was hard and rapid, and he could hear his heart beating. The sound of waves came from outside the ship's cabin, and Mathew peered out the window. Stars littered the night sky and the moon was waning. He stared out the room for a minute and began breathing regularly. His eyes then followed the light entering his room, and they set upon a lone sword. Still in its scabbard, the blade's emerald gem glistened from the touch of moonlit radiance.

Matthew looked at his hands. The gloves were gone, and so was the blood. Small droplets then appeared, one by one. Matthew placed his fingers under his eyes. Tears were flowing down his face. His mouth stretched into a grin, but the moment was fleeting. His lips quivered, and his eyes darted rapidly with no focus. The boy moved his legs closer to his stomach and wrapped his arms around them. A whimper escaped his mouth.

* * *

 _AN – I have, regrettably, spent a little too long on this single portion. I've been looking over the wording and have tried to convey the scenes as much as I could without extending it to unwanted levels. There is a chance that I have potentially fallen flat in some areas. Perhaps something or some things are missing, and if it was an error on my part I apologise. The faults, if caught, will only strengthen me._

 _I am trying something different with 'Lux Alterna' and this is a new form of writing for me. The rest of the story a little different from here on in terms of content. You'll, hopefully, see what I mean. I am planning to work on a sister story for this under the name 'Tenebrae'. The goal is to have them both be read together as I continue writing this tale. The main story will be this one, 'Lux Alterna', however 'Tenebrae' will supplement it, rather imperatively, and I hope that I tell this story properly. Updates will be infrequent and is of my discretion when I am able to continue. I apologise for this. Reviews are welcome and appreciated. Thank you for taking time out of your precious day to read this._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Everchanging Arcadia_


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